Latch-operating device



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O. H. GILBERT. LATCH OPERATING- DEVICE.

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Patented Feb. 9, 1886.

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o. H. GILBERT. LATCH OPERATING DEVICE'.

Patented Feb. 9,1886.

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` Pr-xfrENr FFICE@ ORVELLAS H. GILBERT, OF NEVARK, NEW JERSEY.

Lamm-OPERATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 335,914, dated February9,1886.

Application filed November 6, 1884. Serial No. 147,252. (Model.)

To all whom, t may concern.-

Beit known that I, OEvELLAs H. GILBERT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and use ful improvements in Latch-Operating Devices5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the inven tion, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in latch-operating devices, thegeneral object thereof being to provide a simple, cheap, and effectivelatch-drawing mechanism that may be secured firmly to the door withoutthe liability of becoming loose, and which may be adjusted either toright or left hand doors without necessitating any change therein.

The invention consists of a recessed roseplate adapted to be securedupon a door above a lock-mortise, and having an arm extending downwithin the recess in the rose, bent to enter into engagement with thelatch, and secured to one end of the shank, and an eccentric handleintegrally united with the other end of said shank, said handle and armextending downward in the 'same direction, and parallel one with theother, substantially as illustrated in the drawings, and described andclaimed hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, embodied in two sheets, in whichlike letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of theseveral figures, Figure l, Sheet l, is a front view of one form of mydevice applied to a door. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the saine.Fig. 3 is a back view, showing a lever or finger for retracting thedoor-latch, and Fig. 4 illustrates said door-latch arranged in its caseand adapted to be inserted in a mortise in the door. Fig. 5, Sheet, 2,shows the handle in combination with a latch capable of being locked,and Fig. 6 is a vertical section ofthe same, showing the lock as amortiselock and handles working on both sides of the door. Fig. 7 is asection showinga rim-lock and the latch-operating mechanism modified towork therewith, and Fig. 8 is a plan of the lock.

In said drawings, a is a door, of which a is the edge opposite thehinged edge thereof. b is a plate furnishing bearings for thehandleshank c, which plate may be extended, as sh own in Figs. 5, 6,and7 ,to form an escutcheon for the key-hole. Said plate Z is hollowed outor recessed longitudinally on the back or inner side to form a chamber,d, into which an angigularv portion, f, of the handle-shank pro-v jects.Upon said angular portion is fitted and secured,by means of a suitablenut, f', or by riveting,a iinger or arm, c, which extends inside thechamber downward inthe same direction and parallel with the handle c',and engages at its free end a recess, lt, of the latch g, the saidfinger being preferably bent to effect such engagement, as indicated inFigs. Gand 7. The shank-perforation in the rose-plate is provided with ashoulder, b', with which a shoulder, c2, on the shank engages.

The handle c is set eccentrically on the shank c,'being preferably castintegrally therewith, to cause the person opening the door to grasp saidhandle at the side of the shank corresponding to that from which thefinger projects.

Vhile a handle arranged eceentrically upon a shank is preferred, yetaknob-handle can be employed for operating thelevers; but in turn-V ingthe knob the hand is liable to comein contact with the door-jamb, sincethe movement of the knob must be from right to left to withdraw thelatch. With the eccentric handle the movementis the same as thelatch-away from the jamb-thus avoiding the striking of the hand.

Because ofthe finger or arm extending down and engaging with the latch,the escutcheon or handle-plate can be elongated and secured to the solidpart of the door above and below the lock-mortise, making it speciallyadapted for thin doors. As will be noticed in Fig. 6, the bent ends oi'the fingers or arms from each side of the door overlap each other,thereby permitting the furniture to be used on doors of varyingthickness. The latch g is provided with a suitable recess, h, to receivesaid finger IOO or arm e, and a bearing, c', against which the l fingere presses in throwing back the latch.

Said latch is thrown outward to fasten the door bya spring, j.

When the latch is employed with locking mechanism, I form a lug, 7c,Fig. 8, thereon, adapted to engage a corresponding lug, Z, on a slidingkey-bolt, m, held in position by a pintle. n, and a lug, o, of thelock-case.

In Fig. 8 the key-bolt is shown as having been thrown back, so that thelug l will allow a free movement of the latch when the latter isinfluenced by the finger e. To lock the latch the key is inserted in thekey-hole p and turned. rIhis raises a tumbler, q, pivoted on the pintlen and formed to lock said key-bolt, and allows the key toenter thekey-bolt recess a and throw said bolt forward, so that the lug Z engagesthe lug 7c and prevents the latch g from being retracted. The tumbler isprovided with recesses r r, and the key-bolt with a stop-projection, s,adapted to enter said recesses.

The process above described of raising the tumbler and throwing thekey-bolt carries the stop-projection from the said recess r to therecess r, in which it is held, and the said keyboltis thereby preventedfrom sliding. The spring t, bearing against the side of the tumbler,holds the latter in engagement with the said stop with greater security.

In a rim-lock I may form on the latch g a finger, g', Fig. 7, whichprojects into a recess or opening, c, iu the door to meet the finger c.

It is not broadly new to cast an eccentric -handle integrally upon ashank provided with an extension which projects in a line with the shankinto the latch or lock-case and is adapted to draw the latch. By thisconstruction the rose-plate must be screwed directly over the opening inthe door for the extension, and opposite the lock-mortise, so that onthin doors there will be but little wood left on each side of the lockin which to insert the screws which hold the rose in position;consequently the handle and plate are certain to work loose. In thisdevice the movement of the handle is toward and from the door, and notparallel therewith.

In my improved devices the rose is secured above the lock-mortise, thelong screws entering the solid wood, or,when the escutcheon is a part ofthe rose, also below the mortise, thereby firmly attaching the furnitureto the door. I am able to accomplish this by einploying the arm securedto the end of the 4shank within the recess d in the rose-plate,

extending down within the said recess, as previously described, andentering the recess in the door opposite the latch is adapted to drawthe same.

Another advantageous result of using the long arm is that a handle ofsufficient length for grasping and increased leverage may be arrangedvertically on the door swinging either from right to left, or viceversa, without interfering with the key, which may be left in the door.When the handle is arranged other than vertically, as found in somedevices, the same furniture cannot be used on either right or left handdoors because of interfering with the jamb; but by my arrangement andconstruction the same piece of furniture may be used in either waywithout necessitating the slightest change in the parts. Furthermore, asthe movement of the handle follows the movement of the arm, because theyextend downward in the same direction and are par allel, in drawing thelatch the motion is always away from the jamb, or from the oppo` sitedoor, when used on double doors, avoiding the liability of striking theknuckles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is l. Thecombination,with a handle set eccentricall y upon a shank and castintegrally there with, of a recessed plate, said shank bearing andworking pivotally in saidA plate, an arm secured to the shank andextending down within the recess or chamber in said recessed plateparallel with and in the same direction as the handle, and provided witha bent end adapted to engage with and actuate a latch, substantially asset forth. v

2. The combination, with a door having latching mechanism arrangedtherein, and a recess or recesses, t, of a recessed plate, a shankbearing and working pivotally in said recessed plate and provided with ahandle set eccentrically thereon and cast integrally therewith, and alever or arm extending'downward within the recess inthe same directionvas and parallel with the eccentric handle and secured to said shankwithin the recess in said plate, provided with a bent arm orfinger-piece adapted to enter the said recess t in the door and engagewith and actuate the latch, substantially as and for the purposes hereinset forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

ORVELLAS Il. GILBERT. Vitnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, F. F. CAMPBELL.

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